In-flight entertainment… poor choices?

comments 10
Film

Before heading off to Bahrain, it had been a very long time since I’d gone on a long haul flight. But I always have one rule when it comes to what to watch. Don’t watch anything that needs more than an ounce of attention and concentration. Keep it light. Because you know you’re going to have to pause for the food, drinks and random fellow passenger interruptions.

See, I was conflicted. There were so many films I wanted to watch – Mud, The Hunt, Monsters University, The Great Gatsby, among others. But I can’t do that to films. I can’t watch films that could potentially be amazing with a dodgy set of headphones and a tiny screen. I just can’t.

So what did I end up watching? Well nothing on the way there. Sleep was what I needed. On the way back? I needed to stay awake, so was intending to cram as many as I could in the 7 or so hours. Looked through the films that were available and was looking for some silly action, comedy, is short and anything that doesn’t require a single brain cell.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

Think this film definitely ticks the ‘doesn’t require a brain cell’ category. And its short. Oh and there’s some silly action. Lots of categories ticked right there. For the most part, it filled the time perfectly fine. At one point I found myself picking at the holes in the film and getting annoyed. But had to remind myself why I chose to watch the film.

So Hansel and Gretel are some fantastical witch hunters. There are some mental looking witches. A very loose plot with plenty of aforementioned holes. And a fair bit of action. It’s a silly film. There’s nothing about it that should be taken seriously. It’s ridiculously predictable too. Poor Jeremy Renner’s not having a lot of luck striking out and doing his own films recently. He does a good enough job here, but he’s not got much to work with. The same goes for Gemma Arterton.

Also, it looked hella cheap at times. There are TV shows with bigger budgets than this film. Heck, there are TV shows with smaller budgets that look better than this film.

Second up…

The Internship

The Internship

Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson pair up in a fish out of water comedy. And it is as much a paint by numbers affair that this kind of film can be. With the sorts of stereotypical characters you expect getting into the usual sorts of hijinx in this sort of film. Oh and don’t forget about the love story side story.

I’m trying to think back if there was anything memorable about this comedy. Nope, nothing coming up. Like I said before, this film was perfectly watchable. Had my attention to some degree. And it might have got a couple of chuckles out of me. Maybe just the one actually.

Third and finally…

The Hangover: Part III

The Hangover: Part III

Oh dear. Deary, deary me. Was it because I was watching The Hangover: Part III in seclusion, on my own, without being able to giggle and laugh with others, that just made this final part of the trilogy a bit of a bore? God knows, because I’m not going to rush to see it again.

The Wolfpack return to Las Vegas. Chang, sorry Chow, is still around. Oh but there’s the new awesome added factor of John Goodman. Still not enough to lift this film beyond slightly average. Just about below average. Not quite terrible.

I think it’s also my inability to like Alan. Never have I found a character more gratingly annoying. I’ve never found his childishness more than just an annoyance I’d rather not have to sit through. Sadly.

Oh well, another trilogy is over. Though, did The Hangover ever need to be a trilogy?


So, despite all the naffness of these films, I still will not ever watch anything but fluff on long haul flights. I love film far too much to not give them the attention and proper viewing they deserve.

10 Comments

  1. Yeah, The Hangover Part III seems average from what I heard, so I’ll be skipping that. Better luck next time picking movies on your flight.

  2. Those are some bad movies. I think I’d rather jump off the airplane than watch those films.

    I would make sure my laptop has batteries and films in my hard drive so I could watch them w/ my earphones.

    • The films were my choice out of the countless I could have seen. All the blame lands squarely on myself!

  3. You’re right, The Hangover never needed to be a trilogy. Still haven’t bothered to see the third one.

    On my last extended flight, they were playing the latest Mission Impossible. It turned out to be a good pick, though I’m sure it would have been much better on a bigger screen.

  4. Well The Internship wasn’t so bad, at least not as bad as I was expecting, and Hansel and Gretel was at least so bad it was good, so you at least got 2 for 3 in some way. The Hangover is completely worthless, though. But, as you said, oh well.

  5. Oh, I’m so with you on this. I never watch anything but fluff on flights. The constant drone of the plane engines, the interruptions, curious passengers looking at your screen… I also love cinema far too much for watch something great on a plane.

    I’m flying this weekend, and I have a few subpar Ridley Scott flicks lined up. Not looking forward to them, but it’s the perfect amount of fluff to pass the time!

  6. I agree. Never watch a decent movie on a plane. Just fluff. Which must be why I watched Snakes on a Plane on a plane. Stupid movie. Stupid move. πŸ˜‰

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